F9 Dodge Charger Widebody

       

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Made By:
Jada Toys
Scale:
1/24
MSRP:
US$19.99
Overview:
Packaging (Design):8/10
Packaging (Durability):8/10
Casting (Body):10/10
Casting (Interior):9/10
Casting (Chassis):8/10
Casting (Engine):9/10
Paint (Exterior):10/10
Paint (Interior):N/A
Paint (Trim/Graphics):10/10
Overall Panel Fit:9/10
Total Score:9.0/10

 
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Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody
Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody packaging Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody cargo area Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody interior Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody engine Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody firewall Jada Toys F9 Charger Widebody rear

 
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Background

Most of Dom's Chargers used throughout the Fast & Furious franchise - even the more radical customs like the off-road Charger or the Maximus - retained the basic "Charger" layout. Front engine, rear-wheel drive, 117-inch wheelbase, flying buttress rear window. There were a couple of ventures outside of that, such as the turbine powerplant of the Ice Charger or the aerodynamics of the Charger Daytona, but none have incorporated as many changes to the car used in F9, dubbed "Hellacious" by the builders at Speedkore. Hellacious is a fully street-legal build with a custom carbon fiber body over an aluminum space frame, four-wheel independent suspension, and a 700+hp supercharged Hellcat motor mounted midship.

 

Packaging

The box here Jada's 2020-style Fast & Furious box. The only changes between it and the one from the previously-reviewed Peterbilt is the updated text in the lower right corner of the front panel and a sticker with "F9" added to the top right corner of the window. The car is held to the inner tray with two screws, two plastic bands hold the hood and doors closed, and a plastic tray captures the rear of the car.

 

Casting/Paint

Another stellar piece from Jada. The entire body, including the rear hatch, is cast in metal but is arguable their best work yet. Their work has become good enough that the rear window frame and drip rails over the side windows look prototypically sized. The only plastic parts of the exterior are the clear glass, transparent red taillights, and matte chrome fuel fill and front and rear fascias. The rear fascia has been painted matte black outside of the bumper and taillight bezels, a satin black that perfectly matches the body. The grille has received a black wash and more black is used for the side window moldings and rear window frame. Silver is used for the door handles and hood pins, and gold print is used for the bumblebee stripe. The usual (and still ridiculous) movie title rear plate is printed on the rear bumper. Paint is as good as the casting, with everything located correctly and covering what it needs to. The only flaws I see are a tiny bit of leftover sprue on the fuel cap and a somewhat ugly visible line where the top of the windshield mounts to the roof (which should have a painted black frame to match the rear window).

Inside is an excellent representation of Speedkore's custom interior. The low-back quilted bucket seats, partial wraparound dash, and high gate shifter are all straight off the full-sized car. The GT40-inspired panel between the seats and engine is made of multiple parts that fit each other and the body flawlessly. Colors are limited to the clear panel and black everything else. Two of the gauges have printed faces, but that's the only variation.

Under the rear hatch is a pretty good representation of the supercharged V8. Like some other diecasts, a simple extra layer of plastic can create a very realistic illusion of depth and complexity. Here, the bulk of the engine is a solid black block, but with the addition of separate header pipes and diagonal braces the whole bay suddenly looks more interesting and well-detailed. Silver is used for the pipes, blower, and braces to further improve the overall look.

The chassis continues Jada's recent trend of making things a little more interesting as well. The rear subframe is a fairly complex design with braces, engine and transmission details, and the myriad coolers. The independent suspension arms are all here, as are the tie rod and sway bar between the front wheels. The brakes are Jada's usual discs with red calipers, and wheels are matte gold plastic with vinyl tires.

 

Features/Accessories

The doors, hood, and rear hatch open and close. Most of the hinges are a bit loose, allowing the doors and hood to flop about some while moving the car, but the signature rear hatch has just the right amount of stiffness to keep it open so you can admire the engine.

 

Accuracy

This is just about as good as it gets on a mass-market diecast. The contours, the color, and the details are all right where they should be. The only thing I can think to complain about (and even that's a stretch) is that a few more paint apps would help: the parking lights are blank sockets, the windshield should have a black surround, the interior could use some more silver, things like that. It looks like the bumblebee stripes could be a bit wider, but how accurate they look depends on the angle. For a custom piece like this, with no exact figures available, I try to judge scaling by how the greenhouse compares to a known Charger. In that respect, it looks very close to Revell's 1/25 Charger.

 

Overall

I've been waiting for this one to hit local stores, and it was well worth the wait. This very well may be Jada's finest Charger replica to date.

 

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